


Not a Monster

by awareslaura



Category: The Walking Dead & Related Fandoms, The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Alternate Season 6 Finale, Character Death, Drugging, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Negan POV, Pre-Cegan, Pre-Relationship, Pre-Slash, Sick!Carl, Swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-23
Updated: 2017-09-23
Packaged: 2019-01-04 09:42:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,020
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12166383
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/awareslaura/pseuds/awareslaura
Summary: Tumblr Request: Carl instead of Maggie needed medical attention when they were ambushed by The Saviours. They leave Carl in the RV but Negan can't help but notice their fascination with the thing so he goes looking...





	Not a Monster

**Author's Note:**

> Part one of my prompt weekend! It's time to finally put up the prompts I've had from Tumblr so I'll be releasing one each day until Tuesday where hopefully a new chappie of A Slip of the Lip will be ready (pray for me). 
> 
> Hope you enjoy this one!

Negan couldn't _not_ notice the fuckin’ glances. There he was givin’ them his best damn performance and all they could do was fuckin’ look at that shitty RV of theirs. He let out an exasperated sigh, he wasn't gonna bother with his fuckin' speech if they weren't gonna listen. “Okay which one of you fuckers wants to tell me what's so goddamn interesting about that heap of metal over there?” The panicked look on their faces told him all he needed to know, he rolled his eyes when no one answered. “Do I need to get Lucille to ask? Cos y’all won't like it when she gets mouthy.”

“It's nothing.” 

Ahh about time the leader of the damn group spoke up, even if it was fuckin’ bullshit of the first degree. He squatted down in front of him, Lucille giving him some special attention, grating along the bastard’s cheek. This was the guy that had his men killed and Negan wanted nothing more than to give Lucille what she damn well wanted and bash his fucking skull in until his own momma wouldn't recognise him. That wouldn't be enough though, not nearly enough. He wanted to _break_ him, wanted to see that spark flicker and die in his eyes looong before he put him out of his misery. Negan had an inkling that whatever was in that RV would help him do just that. “You're gonna have to stop lyin’ to me Ricky-boy or things’ll get way worse for you and your jolly followers.”

“There’s nothin’ in the-”

“WRONG ANSWER.” He slammed Lucille down on the ground before he stood. “If you're not gonna fuckin’ tell me then I guess I'll go find out myself.”

The fucker actually tried to get up, cheeky motherfucker, Negan brought Lucille down against his knee. Nothin’ too hard but enough for him to fall to the floor again. “Y’all stay fuckin’ put. Simon, with me.”

He made Simon go in first, couldn't guarantee there wasn't somethin’ dead and walkin’ inside of there. They seemed like the type of dumbass group that would keep someone like that around, sentimental fuckers. He waited outside, Lucille at the ready, for the all clear.

“Jesus fuckin’ Christ.” Came from inside. “You better come see this.”

The heat hit him first, even with the cold biting outside the RV had remained immune to it, it was a sticky, sickly heat. His mind immediately went to the rooms he used to keep at the factory for those who had been infected, at first he’d tried to help them, got the doctors to do what they could to try and cure it. The fever emitting from all the bodies gave the room the sickly smell that was invading his nose right now. He lifted his bat, he wasn’t gonna make the same mistake he had there, if someone had been infected he was damn well gonna take care of that shit.

He was surprised to see that his right-hand man hadn’t done the job already, Simon was just standing over by the couches that curved around the back of the van. He looked back at Negan as he approached, a concerned etched over his face, it wasn’t like him to show that kinda emotion. Hell, when he’d first met the man he didn’t even think him capable of emotion.

Frowning, he cautiously walked closer, bat slipping lower when his eyes found the frail, pale figure on the couch. Jesus, if it wasn’t for the jerky rise and fall of the chest Negan would’ve thought him dead. Sweat covered the boy’s delicate features, a pained look coated his face, small whimpers of pain escaped plump lips. He was so small, bundled up under thick blankets, no doubt trying to sweat out whatever fever had overtaken him.

“You think he’s been bit?” Simon asked.

“No fuckin’ clue. Not seen it look like this before.”

They shared a look, God fuckin’ know what this shit was supposed to even look like.

“We could ask ‘em? See what they say.”

Negan contemplated it. “Nah they’d lie. Pretty obvious they’d do anythin’ to save their own asses. We’ll have to take a look ourselves.”

“Right, I’ll take the bottom you take the top..” Simon said, shifting the blankets off the body.

“Nuh-uh, I’m not goin’ anywhere near those chompers. You take the top.”

Simon rolled his eyes at him as they switched positions, one of the few perks that came with his status was that Negan didn’t bash his head in when he did shit like that. Together they looked the boy over, shifting clothing out of the way to look out for any marks. Negan paused when he reached his underwear, maybe takin’ the bottom was a bad fuckin’ idea, he felt like a goddamn pervert lookin’ over his ass but it had to be done. He wasn’t gonna risk anymore of his men gettin’ hurt just because he didn’t want to look at a guy’s ass. So he took a breath and took a glimpse, no marks, thank goodness for that. The fact that his eyes lingered a little more than they should’ve was just somethin’ for him to think about another damn day.

“All clear up top.”

“All clear down here.” They stood next to each other, looking the kid over. “So just what the fuck is wrong with him?”

“Could be anything.” Simon replied. “Flu, general fever, damn chickenpox.”

“Chickenpox? You need fuckin’ spots for chickenpox dumbass.” Christ, Simon was supposed to be one of the smart fuckin’ ones.

“Well I dunno, that’s why I’m not the doctor.”

Negan sighed, thinking hard about his next steps. What the fuck were they gonna do about this? The group was probably on their way to get the kid help, at least he hoped they were. Wait, why the fuck did he hope they were? He should just bash the kid’s head in and be done with it, natural selection and all that. The thought was just damn unspeakable to him, he wasn’t a complete monster.

“So what do we do about this?” Simon asked. 

“I dunno, we could leave them to it, stick to the plan or…” He trailed off.

“Or?” Simon pushed.

“Or we take him back to the factory, give him to the Doc to work on.”

“Are you kiddin’ me? Take one of the enemies back there?”

“You questionin’ me?” Negan growled, even Simon could only push so far.

“No no no, just…”

“Just that you were.” He snarked back. “We take him with us, if I’m right that’ll only piss that shithead off out there.”

“Then what?”

“Keep him around, if he lives he could be useful to us, bit of leverage to keep those fuckers in line.”

“And if he dies?”

“He’s not gonna fuckin’ die. The Doc will see to that.”

Simon sighed, “Alright, let’s move him into one of our vans.” He started to bend down, intending to pick him up but was stopped by a firm “No.” from the other man. Lucille was shoved into his arms.

Hands now free Negan reached down to grab the boy, cradling him into his arms as he lifted him up. God, the kid was as light as a fuckin’ bag of feathers, what kinda food had they been givin’ him? He hushed the moans that slipped out as his body was jostled in the movement, Negan held him closer trying to steady him more.

“Nonono...please leave him alone.” The begging started the second he stepped out of the RV, shocked gasps and protests ricocheted through the group.

“No fuckin’ chance, he’s comin’ with me.” That fucker Rick had the gall to stand up again. “You want me to hit that knee of yours again Rick? I can make it so you _never_ stand up again, then you’ll be useless to your kid over here.” The glimmer of recognition in his eye told him all he needed to know. So he had the fucker’s son in his arms, absolutely fuckin’ _perfect._ This was just what need needed. “I’m gonna take your ol’ son here _Rick_ , might even get him some help for whatever the fuck is wrong with the lil’ shit and you, well you’re gonna do what you’re fuckin’ told if you ever wanna see him again.”

Rick’s jaw was so tense Negan actually worried that he was gonna grind his teeth down to dust, now _that_ would be a fun fuckin’ sight.

“Nod so I know you understand.” Negan couldn’t help gettin’ the last jab in. He smirked when Rick did as fuckin’ told. “Good boy. Right kids let’s get this show on the fuckin’ road.” Just as he was about to place Carl in his van, he turned back to shout out to Simon. “Oh, and don’t forget to shoot one of the fuckers, can’t forget about their punishment.” He left to the sounds of horrified shouting as a gunshot resonated through the woods.

**********

Carl’s eye fluttered open, flinching at the harsh white light in the room, he squinted trying to see anything other than white. He was in some kind of ward, there were beds spread out everywhere, all of them neatly made, almost uniform. The shocking white was a deep contrast to the grey, damp covered walls, nothing like the small makeshift hospital in Alexandria. Just where on earth was he? He tried to move, he had to get his shit together just in case, he didn’t like being so defenceless. All he could do was gasp out when a shooting pain radiated out of his stomach, he brought a hand down out of instinct, disconcerted when the pressure just brought more pain. Looking down all he could see was gauze covering his stomach, it reminded him of the time he’d been shot, had that happened again?

No. The last thing he’d remembered was feeling faint and feverish when he’d been looking after Judith, he’d put her down for a moment and then...nothing. Vague blurs filled his mind but he couldn’t make any sense of them, he could recall lots of movement, being shuffled aground, then leather?

The door slammed open jolting him from his thoughts. His body tensed ready for a fight, he couldn’t do much but he’d be damned if he didn’t go out fighting. He didn’t expect to see an older man in a white coat to walk through the door, he actually looked like a proper doctor.

“Ah good to see you’re up. How’re you feeling?”

Carl shifted away as the man sat on the bed next to him. “Where am I?”

“Ah Negan told me you might be a bit groggy.”

“Negan? Who the hell is Negan?”

“He’s in charge here at the Sanctuary. You were brought to me unconscious.”

That explain why he couldn’t remember anything. “Why was I unconscious?”

“Nothing serious, just a classic case of appendicitis. Haven’t seen that in awhile but I used to deal with it all the time before… anyway you’re all sorted, appendix is removed and you’re healing nicely.”

“You took my appendix?”

“Yes, we got lucky with the timing, any longer and it would’ve burst. Not sure if I’d be able to have fixed that under these conditions. So what’s your name?”

“Carl… didn’t my Dad tell you?” Just who the fuck were these people?

“Uh, no.”

“When can I go?” He blurted out, he just wanted to go see his Dad and Judith.

“Not for awhile I’m afraid, you still need to heal.”

“Is my Dad here?”

“I’m not too sure about that, Negan didn’t say much, you’ll have to ask him.”

“I don’t even know who _him_ is.”

“You need to calm down, it’s not good to get this stressed after surgery.”

Carl shifted again, ignoring the shooting pain, he had to leave and he had to leave _now_.

“You need to rest.” Hands pinned him back to the bed, he slapped at the, trying to wriggle out from them.

“Let me go!” He protested. Before Carl knew what was happening a needle jabbed into his arm and darkness took him again.

********

He was even groggier next time he awoke, whatever had been injected into him was like a lead weight pumping through his body. Moving his body wasn’t an option, he could just about shift his head to the side, heavy eyes unable to focus in the dim light. There was a figure by his side, low voice humming, he tried to focus on it, just about making out dark leather before black overcame him again, lulled back to sleep by that damn hum.

**********

He flickered in and out of consciousness, never quite coherent enough to do anything. Each time he thought his mind was clearing a painful prick on his arm had him falling back into the darkness no matter how much he pleaded. The figure was there throughout all of it sometimes humming, sometimes speaking words that Carl could never remember. He vaguely remembered a soft touch on his face, a damp cloth dabbing his forehead, the figure hovering over him. How much time had passed since he was awake? Was this his life now? Falling in and out of a sleep that he’d never escape from.

Carl anticipated the sting of the needle, he was getting to that point where the fog cleared enough for him to start thinking again. He was surprised when none came, the humming that he’d been enjoying continued, this time when he looked over the figure was clearer. An older man sat by his side, leather jacket that he’d seen before tossed over the chair arm, he stopped humming when he noticed the blue eyes looking him over.

“Well good mornin’ sunshine.” The voice was so damn familiar to him now, almost as recognisable as his own.

Nothing but a croak escaped him when he tried to speak, his throat was drier that the desert, he couldn’t even get enough saliva together to help soothe it.

“Here, have some of this.”

Carl flushed when the man held up a straw to his lips, the desperate thirsty overwhelming any embarrassment at being babied in such a way. He drained the glass in one go, practically moaning at the rush of liquid down his throat. “Thank you.” He managed to croak out. His body ached, like he hadn’t moved in days, each muscle screamed as he experimented with shifting them around. That shooting pain had disappeared to a dull throb, the only physical reminder of the thing that had put him in this place. “Where am I?” Maybe he’d get more answers out of this guy.

“We call it ‘The Sanctuary’ complete bullshit if you ask me but hey I didn’t fuckin’ name it.”

“How...how did I get here? Where’s my Dad? Who on earth is Negan?” The questions came hard and fast, if he was gonna get knocked out again he was damn well gonna get some answers beforehand.

The man chuckled at him, relaxing back into the chair. “Lots of fuckin’ questions there. You really don’t remember?”

“No.” He admitted. “I got sick and then… then I woke up here.”

“Your Dad isn’t here, he’s back in your town. He let you come here, asked me to take care of you.”

“Why? Why would he just leave me?”

“To keep you safe, you were very sick when you came here, you’d have died if he’d taken you anywhere else.”

It just didn’t feel right, his Dad wouldn’t just leave him would he? Even when they’d been at Hershel's after he’d been shot his Dad hadn’t left his side, but then he didn’t have a whole damn town to run. The old resentment filled him, maybe his Dad really had just cared more about the town, easier to keep him out of the way than have to take care of him yet again. It seemed like everytime Rick started seeing him as capable something like this happened to make him weak again.

“You alright?”

“Yeah… what happens now? Am I going back to Alexandria? I feel fine.” Carl tried to convince him, he didn’t want to be here a single second that he didn’t need to be. He had to get back and prove to his Dad that he was capable to taking care of himself.

“Not yet no.”

“Why not?”

“It’s better for you here.”

“How?” He argued, other than a doctor what else could they possible have to offer him?

“Training, security, food, whatever you damn well want.”

“And in return?”

“Nothing.”

Carl scoffed. “I wasn’t born yesterday, you don’t get shit like this for nothing. What’s my Dad bribed you with to get you to keep me here?”

“I get you. You’re fighter, a badass, I mean you lost your damn eye and you’re still fuckin’ alive. _That_ , well that’s some fucking badass shit.”

Carl flushed, he’d never been complimented like that especially about his eye, the topic was practically forbidden at Alexandria. “Can I go home or am I trapped here?”

A darker look appeared on the man’s face. “You’re not goin’ anywhere until your Dad gives the say so, if you try and leave you’ll just get dragged back.”

“So I’m trapped?”

“Consider it a fun vacation from that boring-as-shit town. You get some time away from Daddy dearest and you can work on building your strength up again.” The man stood suddenly, the chair screeched unbearably along the floor. “I gotta go, shit to do. Stay there and have a think, don’t do anything fuckin’ stupid there are guards at each entrance and the Doc’s always handy with his needle.”

Carl watched him leave, mind racing with the conversation. “Wait.” He called, stopping the man as he opened the door. “Who’s Negan?”  

A wolfish grin revealed sharp white teeth stirring fear and something else he couldn’t quite put a name on inside of him. “Negan? Well that would be fuckin’ me.” With a wink the man left the room leaving Carl to figure out just what the fuck he was going to do.


End file.
